Man remanded for one hour after refusing to testify against suspect who allegedly tried to murder him
Kaieteur News – High Court Justice, Peter Hugh on Wednesday issued an order to remand Compton Charles, the complainant/victim in an attempted murder trial to prison after he declined to testify against his alleged perpetrator.
High Court Justice, Peter Hugh
Justice Hugh had ordered that Charles, the victim in a 2013 incident which left him unconscious for days, be remanded to Lusignan Prison until today. The judge subsequently recalled his order.
Before this, Charles had spent an hour in the prison holding cell at the Georgetown High Court. He was subsequently released. The man was scheduled to give evidence in the attempted murder trial of Shawn Embelton. Embelton is accused of attempting to run Charles over with a car for attacking and beating Charles with a piece of wood over an old grievance.
The incident which occurred on November 1, 2023 at Graham’s Hall, East Coast Demerara, left Charles unconscious for several days. He woke up at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation nursing broken limbs some eight days after he was beaten.
The trial in the attempted murder case is being presented by State Counsel, Dellon Fraser and Mikhail Puran at the High Court. At the commencement of the trial on Wednesday, the State had already called three witnesses to the stand but when it was time for Charles to testify, he took the stand and informed the court that he would not be proceeding with the matter against Embelton.
A source attached to the High Court told this publication that the judge warned Charles that he could be placed in custody for refusing to give evidence.
However, despite this warning from the judge, the complainant remained adamant that he would not proceed with his testimony. As such, the judge issued the order for him to be remanded to the Lusignan Prison until today. Consequently, Charles was placed in the lock ups at the High Court, but approximately an hour after the judge recalled his decision. Kaieteur News understands that the judge had taken a decision to remand the victim in accordance with provisions of the Criminal Procedure Act. However, when contacted, for further clarity, those close to the case declined to make any further comment on the matter. They noted that “the matter which is still active before the court” is scheduled to continue this morning.
